Mother's Intuition
by Crystalazer
Summary: When I look at us, I see a family. It may just be Mother's Intuition, but I'm willing to trust in it. A difference in perspective.


**Mother's Intuition**

**Disclaimer: **Naruto does not belong to me. Rub it in, why don't 'cha?

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It is not my place to say so, but when I look at us, I see not Konoha's most noble clan. I do not see legends, child prodigies, or the Sharingan that makes our enemies lose heart.

When I look at us, I see a family. It may just be Mother's Intuition, but I'm willing to trust in it.

My parents owned a small tea shop in the Main District, where I worked. That was when we met. We were both young and foolish and in love, so in time, I married Uchiha Fugaku. But it wasn't because of grand titles or power. We married out of love for each other, and I was grateful to be so openly welcomed into the Uchiha Clan. Everyone was so kind to a simple shopkeepers' daughter and I felt as if I had belonged here all my life.

Two years later, Fugaku and I were blessed with our first child. We named him Itachi. Fugaku had told me that as a young boy, he had once owned a pet weasel that was the cleverest thing and that shared Itachi's birthday before passing away. Auntie Urichi helped with the birthing; she is a good judge of character and said that Itachi would become an extraordinary person.

She was right, of course. Itachi certainly wasn't an ordinary child. He was a speedy learner; figuring out how to speak and walk almost simultaneously. On his third birthday, he declared to his father and I that he wanted to become a ninja. Fugaku said that if that was what he wanted in life, then he would become a ninja…when he became older, of course. We waited two more years before sending him to the academy.

The same year, our second child came along. This one we named Sasuke, after his grandfather. Sasuke looked more like me, while Itachi favored his father's looks. Besides appearance, though, they were both very similar. Perhaps, the former was more independent and serious while the latter had more of a sense of fun, but that didn't change their relationship with one another. Always, Sasuke followed Itachi around whenever he was at home, and Itachi took it in good stride, something of which I was proud of him for.

I was also glad to see that my oldest son was finally making friends. It had been a challenge for him while in the academy to socialize because, and I don't mean this to sound as if I am boasting or favoring one over the other, but because of Itachi's vast achievements, I'll dare to say that some of his classmates were intimidated by him. But finally, he made friends with a boy in the year above him; Uchiha Shisui.

Shisui was a pleasant, trustworthy person who was slow to anger. He taught Itachi many things and when Itachi graduated the academy at the same time he did, Shisui was as proud as him as if he were his own brother.

We had Shisui over many times for dinner; always, he was a polite, gracious guest who had a fondness for my baked eel. The boys spent a lot of time together, and even let little Sasuke tag along, sometimes.

Fugaku was very proud of Itachi the year that Sasuke was accepted into the academy. Who wouldn't be proud of a son who was made Captain of an ANBU Squad at age thirteen? He was, of course, proud of Sasuke for wanting to follow in his brother's footsteps as well, and although it always seemed as if conversations with the rest of the clan revolved around the older son, he _did _confide in me about all his hopes and dreams for the younger.

Then came the sad day when we found out that Shisui had committed suicide. None of us had any idea that he felt this way; he had always seemed like such a content person. Itachi was profoundly affected by his death, and I couldn't blame him. After that incident, my oldest son grew distant and colder, even to Sasuke. Fugaku was assured that it only was a mixture of stress and fatigue from taking so many high-level missions, but I wasn't so sure. After years of being a mother, any woman can tell when her child is stressed or tired; Fugaku's explanation seemed completely reasonable, but I couldn't shake the feeling that that wasn't all. I hardly saw Itachi after he was accepted into the ranks of ANBU, so I had no chances to confront him.

One morning, Fugaku announced at breakfast that he wanted to take Sasuke out and show him a fire jutsu. I'll never forget the look in Sasuke's eyes. They were so full of hope and determination, and the thought that maybe his father really did love him after all. That evening, Fugaku returned, slightly disappointed. Itachi had learned the jutsu on his first, maybe second try, but Sasuke was still out there.

I then began rarely seeing Sasuke around anymore. I knew where he was; the same place he had been for the last two weeks, the lake near the academy. With my husband and oldest son on missions most of the week and now my younger son learning how to blow fireballs, well, even a mother can get lonely.

I remembered how before Itachi was conceived, Fugaku would always look over my shoulder as I chopped vegetables and tried to guess what I was making. He was a terrible cook and an even worse aficionado.

When Itachi and Sasuke were younger, they would always try to see over the counter-top in order to decipher what kind of tea I was brewing. Itachi's favorite flavor was jasmine tea, the teahouse's house special. Sasuke didn't drink tea, but he loved to stand by the kettle and predict when it was going to whistle. Every afternoon, he would ask me what the difficulty in putting leaves in boiling water was, and why it took so long. I told him that it was indeed very difficult because a certain amount of time needs to pass before the tea becomes tea and not just leaves and boiling water. Finally, he asked me if he could try. I agreed.

The next day, he brings me a cup of tea while I'm cleaning the dishes from breakfast. Amused, I asked how he managed to make the water boil. Itachi responded, saying that he performed a fire jutsu for Sasuke since he wasn't allowed to use the stove. That was typical of my little Sasuke as well. He asked me to taste it, since I was his mother and all.

I was about to take a sip when I noticed a dirt clod floating near the edges. When asked where he had gotten the leaves from, he answered proudly that he had taken them from the trees growing in the courtyard. Sasuke wasn't yet tall enough to reach even the lowest branches. Itachi took this time to promptly make an exit.

I finally caught Sasuke as he was heading resolutely toward the lake for yet another day of training. There were minor burn marks all over his face; I heard from a few of the other mothers who had children at the academy that he considered them battle scars. Battle scars or not, that skin would never heal if he kept working from dawn until dusk each day. So I applied some of the burn salve we always keep in the house and he looked at me strangely. I can't tell whether it was in thanks or as if I was detaining him; I had a feeling that it was a mixture of both.

But I gave him word of encouragement and his whole face lit up like the streets of Konoha during the Summer Festival. That evening, Fugaku asked me to sew the symbol of the Uchiha Clan on a new shirt.

It's not easy recalling all these happy memories to mind while you're lying on the ground, drowning in your own blood. I never even saw the face that ran his blade through my stomach. Itachi is out on a mission right now, somewhere far away from here. Atleast he'll be safe, but I'm still worried about Sasuke. What will he do when he comes home and finds his parents dead? Or did that someone kill him too? I can only pray that they are safe…maybe our sacrifices will be enough to keep them alive. There is no mother who does not care for the welfare of her children. I want them to live; I want them to live more than I've ever wanted anything else…in the world.

…Maybe my eyes are playing tricks on me. I just thought I saw…no, it couldn't be. It couldn't be…my…son…

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_Fin_

_--_

Honestly, I had a lot of fun with this fic. It was a change of pace for once, and very subtle. ...I wanted to include Obito somewhere in there, since we all love him so much, but he kinda got squished out...sorry, ol' chummy.

I might have gotten the family history wrong, but what the heck. Artistic liscense! So anyway, I just had to include something about tea in there because...I'm a tea fanatic. My characters all like tea, I like tea, my parents like tea, heck, chinese people **LIKE TEA**. I also didn't include every section that was touched upon in the anime, but I needed to keep the ball rolling. You all understand, don't you?

I don't know what it is about minor characters that are so enticing. In fact, I'm working on a fic right now called "Second Glances" that focuses mainly on minor characters. Hopefully, I'll be able to continue it this time...instead of write two pages and stop, like I usually do.

_Love it? Hate it? I'll never know unless you **review!**_

And _especially _on this fic; I need feedback. **Badly. **


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